USA - Washington & Oregon

Question 1

Wine production in Washington?

Answer 1

Washington has emerged as the nation’s second largest producer of premium wines, accounting for approximately 5% of the nation’s total production.

• 99% of its vineyards, are located east of the Cascade Mountains, where the mountains’ rain shadow effect turns the land arid and necessitates irrigation.

Question 2

Type of climate in WA?

Answer 2

continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters: frost and winter freezes are serious concerns for growers

Question 3

Soil in the east part of the Cascade?

Answer 3

the bedrock is basalt, overlaid by sediments deposited by the Missoula Floods

Question 4

What is the largest appellation in WA?

Answer 4

Columbia Valley AVA

• It follows the outline of the Columbia River Basin down to the Oregon border.

Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, and Horse Heaven Hills (within Columbia Valley)

Question 5

4 AVAs inside Yakima Valley?

Answer 5

Snipes Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Candy Mountain.

Question 6

Main grapes in Rattlesnake Hills?

Answer 6

Riesling is the most planted variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot

Question 7

What is the particularity of Red Mountain AVA?

Answer 7

Red Mountain is Washington’s warmest growing region as well as its most densely planted AVA. It has developed a reputation for noteworthy, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon.

Question 8

Where is located Candy Mountain AVA (2020)?

Answer 8

Candy Mountain, Washington’s newest and smallest AVA, is a south-facing slope located southeast of Red Mountain.

Question 9

Where is Walla Walla Valley AVA?

Answer 9

In the southern part, shared with Oregon.

Question 10

Main grapes in Walla Walla?

Answer 10

premium red wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah

Question 11

Grapes varieties in WA?

Answer 11

W = led by Chardonnay and Riesling and Gewürztraminer, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc

R = Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.

Question 12

AVAs in Washington?

Answer 12

Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley	
Candy Mountain	2020
Columbia Gorge (shared with Oregon)	
Columbia Valley (shared with Oregon)	
Horse Heaven Hills	
Lake Chelan	
Lewis-Clark Valley (shared with Idaho)	2016
Naches Heights
Puget Sound	
Rattlesnake Hills	
Red Mountain	
Royal Slope	2020
Snipes Mountain	
Wahluke Slope	
Walla Walla Valley (shared with Oregon)	
Yakima Valley	1983 (the 1st AVA in WA)

Question 13

4 AVAs in Oregon at the border with WA?

Answer 13

Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, and Walla Walla Valley, and The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA

Question 14

What is important in The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA (2015)?

Answer 14

It features topsoil of basalt cobblestones similae to the galets of Châteauneuf-du-Pape—and producers are just beginning to explore its potential for Rhône-style wines.

Question 15

Which is the AVA on the eastern side of Oregon?

Answer 15

Snake River Valley AVA (shared with Idaho)

Question 16

Where is located Willamette Valley AVA?

Answer 16

Between the Cascades and the Coastal Range

Question 17

Who were the firsts that discover the potential in Willamette Valley for Pinot Noir?

Answer 17

David Lett of Eyrie and Charles Coury were the first to explore its potential, traveling northward from California to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in the mid-1960s. Dick Erath, Dick Ponzi, and others followed not long thereafter, seeking a more marginal climate for the grape.

Question 18

What changed the reputation in Willamette Valley Pinot Noir?

Answer 18

Lett’s 1975 “South Block Reserve” Pinot Noir achieved outstanding results in French competition

Question 19

Which French wineries started to buy vineyards in Willamette?

Answer 19

The Burgundy négociant Maison Joseph Drouhin purchased Dundee Hills property in 1987

Question 20

The main six AVAs within Willamette Valley?

Answer 20

Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Ribbon Ridge, McMinnville, Yamhill-Carlton District, and Chehalem Mountains.

Question 21

Which are the newest AVAs within Willamette?

Answer 21

Van Duzer Corridor AVA was approved in 2019, followed by the Laurelwood District and Tualatin Hills AVAs in 2020

Question 22

What is the soil in Dundee Hills AVA?

Answer 22

Jory, a well-drained soil series of volcanic origin, is common in the “red hills” of Dundee

Question 23

What is the soil in Ribbon Ridge AVA?

Answer 23

marine sedimentary soils called Willakenzie

Question 24

Main white grapes in Oregon?

Answer 24

Pinot Gris (vinified in dry and off-dry styles), Chardonnay, and Riesling.

Question 25

Main AVAs in southern Oregon?

Answer 25

From N to S:

Umpqua Valley, Elkton Oregon, Rogue Valley, Applegate Valley, and Red Hill Douglas County

Question 26

Main grapes varieties in southern Oregon?

Answer 26

Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Chardonnay

Question 27

Label laws?

Answer 27

Varietal wines from Oregon, excluding those produced from white and red Bordeaux varieties, major Rhône grapes, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Tannat, and Tempranillo, must contain a minimum 90% of the stated variety rather than the standard 75%. Thus, Oregon Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris must contain a minimum 90% of either grape. Oregon also maintains stricter state laws for labeling by region: a wine labeled by an AVA within Oregon must contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the respective appellation, rather than the 85% mandated by federal law.